Trump, Netanyahu speak amid speculation US could join attacks on Iran * First repatriation flights land at Ben Gurion Airport; 2,800 Israelis expected home today * Iran appears to down Israeli drone for 1st time
Today, 3:34 am
People stand on a rooftop as smoke billows following an Israeli strike in Tehran on June 17, 2025. (Atta Kenare/AFP)
People take shelter in an underground metro station as a precaution against Iranian missile attacks, in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, Israel, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Israeli air defense systems fire to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, June 18, 2025. (AP/Leo Correa)
A man takes a cell phone photo as missiles fired from Iran toward Israel fly over Syrian territory in Damascus, Syria, June 18, 2025. (AP/Ghaith Alsayed)
People take shelter in an underground parking lot in Tel Aviv due to missile attacks from Iran, June 17, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday’s events as they happen.
Russian ambassador says families of embassy employees evacuated from Israel
The families of Russian diplomats have left Israel, Russia’s ambassador to Tel Aviv Anatoly Viktorov says, as Israel and Iran traded fire for a sixth day.
“Almost all the wives and children of embassy employees” left on Tuesday via Egypt “to return to their homeland,” Viktorov says, interviewed by pro-Kremlin presenter Vladimir Solovyev.
He also does not rule out the possibility that the Russian embassy could be moved “to a more secure location without leaving Israel.”
Iran arrests five alleged Mossad agents, accusing them of ‘tarnishing’ country’s image online
Iranian news agencies report five suspected agents of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency were detained on charges of tarnishing the country’s image online.
“These mercenaries sought to sow fear among the public and tarnish the image of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran through their calculated activities online,” the Tasnim and ISNA news agencies quote a statement from the Revolutionary Guards as saying.
They add that the arrests had been made in the western province of Lorestan.
Iran announced on Friday that it was placing temporary restrictions on the internet for the duration of the conflict. Numerous sites and apps have since been at least partially inaccessible.
Iran frequently arrests people and accuses them, without evidence, of spying for Israel.
7 more drones intercepted before entering Israeli airspace, IDF says
Seven drones launched at Israel from Iran were intercepted by the Israeli Air Force a short while ago, the military says.
Sirens had sounded in the Golan Heights, but the IDF says all of the drones were shot down before entering Israeli airspace.
Over a dozen UAVs have been launched by Iran at Israel since midnight.
Iran appears to successfully down Israeli drone for first time
Iran appears to have successfully downed an Israeli drone over the Isfahan area last night, state media reports, in a first.
Footage broadcast by Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB shows what appears to be a crashed Israeli Air Force Hermes 900.
The IDF has not commented. It has previously denied Iranian claims of shooting down Israeli aircraft, which were not backed by any evidence.
Hacking group tied to Israel claims to have carried out cyberattack on Iranian cryptocurrency exchange company
A hacking group linked to Israel claims to have carried out a cyberattack on an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange company.
The group known as Gonjeshke Darande, or “predatory sparrow,” says it will “release Nobitex’s source code and internal information from their internal network” in 24 hours.
“Any assets that remain there after that point will be at risk!” the group says.
“The Nobitex exchange is at the heart of the regime’s efforts to finance terror worldwide, as well as being the regime’s favorite sanctions violation tool. Nobitex doesn’t even pretend to abide by sanctions. In fact, it publicly instructs users on how to use its infrastructure to bypass sanctions,” Gonjeshke Darande says in a post on X.
Gonjeshke Darande yesterday claimed to have hacked Iran’s Bank Sepah. Reports indicated that the bank’s services were not unavailable after the hack.
In recent years, the group has claimed responsibility for several cyber attacks on Iran, including against gas stations and a steel factory.
Israel generally maintains a policy of ambiguity regarding its cyber operations against Iran, and does not disclose its responsibility for them.
“Bypassing sanctions doesn’t pay,” Gonjeshke Darande adds in a separate post, attaching screenshots purportedly showing seized crypto funds woth tens of millions of dollars.
As first repatriation flights land at Ben Gurion, official says 2,800 Israelis expected to fly home today
The first two flights bringing Israeli citizens back to Israel from Larnaca in Cyprus land at Ben Gurion Airport as the Israel Airports Authority says 2,800 are expected to return home today.
Between 100,000 and 150,000 Israelis have been stranded by the aerial war between Israel and Iran that has shuttered Israeli airspace.
“Our aim is to bring back as many people as possible, but it is more important that they are safe,” Israel Airports Authority CEO Sharon Kedmi tells Army Radio.
“We are carrying out assessments on an hourly basis,” he says.
A statement from the airports authority says that the return operation “is being managed in stages based on the level of risk and current security assessments, with a strong emphasis on the safety of passengers, aircrews and aircraft.”
It urges the public not to go to Ben Gurion Airport to greet arriving passengers or order taxis to pick them up from the airport due to “the current security situation.”
Katz amid ongoing Israeli operation in Iran: ‘This is how dictatorships fall’
As the IDF continues its operations in Iran, Defense Minister Israel Katz says in a post on X: “A tornado sweeps through Tehran. Symbols of power are being bombed and collapsing — from the broadcasting authority and soon other targets, as masses of residents flee. This is how dictatorships fall.”
The comment appears to allude to a potential collapse of the Islamic Republic’s regime, as strikes continue to target key government, military and nuclear institutions.
NYT: Israel began planning Iran strikes in December, Netanyahu gave presentation to Trump in February
Israel began planning for the strikes on Iran in December after the decimation of the Hezbollah terror group and the fall of the Assad regime in Syria opened up an air corridor, the New York Times reports.
According to the report, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House in February, he gave a presentation to US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Iran’s nuclear program.
The report says that instead of opting to join the assault or doing nothing, Trump initially took a middle path and decided to give Israel “as-yet undisclosed support from the US intelligence community to carry out its attack.”
The wide-ranging report details Trump’s apparent shift in thinking on Iran over the past few months and days.
“When [Trump] woke on Friday morning, his favorite TV channel, Fox News, was broadcasting wall-to-wall imagery of what it was portraying as Israel’s military genius. And Mr. Trump could not resist claiming some credit for himself,” the newspaper writes.
The Times concludes that with Trump suggesting that the US could get directly involved, there is now “little indication that the conflict would be brought to a quick end through diplomacy.”
Air force shot down 3 more Iranian drones, IDF says
The Israeli Air Force shot down three more drones launched from Iran a short while ago, the IDF says.
Sirens had sounded in the Golan Heights.
Sirens sound in north amid suspected drone infiltration
Sirens are sounding in a number of communities in the north amid a suspected drone infiltration.
Israel is running low on Arrow missile interceptors, WSJ reports
Israel is running low on defensive “Arrow” missile interceptors, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing an unnamed US official, raising concerns about the country’s ability to counter long-range ballistic missiles from Iran.
There has been no Israeli confirmation of the report, and no indication from Israel of any shortage of interceptors. Most Iranian missiles fired at Israel in recent days have been intercepted, at similar rates to Iran’s attacks in 2024, according to the IDF.
The IDF planned its operation in Iran months in advance, and claims to have accurate intelligence on Iran’s ballistic missile stockpiles. The military said yesterday that some 40% of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers have been destroyed so far in the operation.
The Arrow system is not the only defensive measure being used against Iran’s missiles.
The US has both ground-based Patriot missile defense systems and Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) systems in the Middle East capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. US Navy destroyers have also shot down projectiles.
Content retrieved from: https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-june-18-2025/.
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